EP Review: Ka Mua Ka Muri

Gigi Crayford, better known by her artist name HINE, has curated an impressive bilingual EP named Ka Mua Ka Muri. Ka Mua Ka Muri brings together the lessons HINE uncovered over the past three years of her life, intentionally diving into her lineage after moving from Wellington to ancestral land in Ōtaki. HINE immersed herself in learning Te Reo Māori and in carving and playing Taonga Pūoro. Resultingly, her maiden EP is deeply personal and inventive, collecting five songs each dedicated to a different Atua Wahine.

The collection opens cinematically with Hinetakurua, an eerie, atmospheric track which runs for an incredible ten minutes. This is less of a song and more of an experience. Best enjoyed with headphones in, its subtle, slow pacing features bird calls, light keys and jazzy guitar riffs. Crayford’s vocal delivery compels the listener with a sharp, expressive tone. What is most engaging about her performance, on not only this song but the overall collection, is that she is unafraid to sound imperfect. She expresses her feelings wholeheartedly, giving the listener vocal flips, growls and moans that stretch her abilities to the most emotionally profound places. Despite its gentle beginnings, this opening song builds to a screaming wall of sound that shows off HINE’s stunning sense of dynamic range and theatricality.

Arahina Mai goes for a more acoustic approach, highlighting dreamy, strummed guitars and a soaring falsetto, whilst E Rere Apahau is all about the grounded piano underneath other more layered sounds. Each song incorporates elements of nature, but none as effectively as the closing title track, which meshes spoken word with shuddering, rolling percussion and the sounds of Aotearoa’s native forests. It’s a dramatic and well-earned finale to such a marvellous musical journey.

Over The Bones is the EP’s standout track for its prominent use of autoharp. This quirky sound presents HINE as the angel she truly is, giving an ethereal energy to her winding melodies and spiritual lyrics. “We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors“, she hisses, over full, heartfelt instrumentation that reminds us her word is gospel. “They lived so we could see, feel and be more than ever before!”

Ka Mua Ka Muri is a complex and detailed project vulnerably embodying HINE’s own growth and learning. This EP speaks to both the power of songwriting as a cathartic personal experience, and to the magic of making music in our one-of-a-kind country. It’s a listen that not only requires, but deserves, your utmost attention.